Sachin Tendulkar says he will continue to bat aggressively despite a spate of wear and tear injuries in the last few years.
India's premier batsman has made another successful comeback after being out for six months following elbow surgery, top-scoring with 93 and 67 not out in the current one-day series against Sri Lanka.
"If I see it, I hit it," Tendulkar told Reuters before the sixth match of the series. "I try and keep everything simple."
Tendulkar said he never had concerns about returning to the national side.
"I've been around long enough. I was pretty confident of my batting obviously, that is where my strength lies," he said.
The 32-year-old Mumbai batsman, speaking as he fixed cracks in his bat with glue, said it was initially difficult on his return in the first game in Nagpur, where he suffered cramp.
"It was a little tough on my body because I hadn't played a match in six-and-a-half months," he said. "To straightaway get into a match where there was a lot of running around involved."
MENTALLY TOUGH
Tendulkar said the injury also demanded a lot of patience.
"In between it was tough, extremely tough mentally and physically. Mentally probably more because I wanted to get back in action and had to somehow stay away from the action and build all the muscles properly."
Tendulkar burst on to the international scene as a 16-year-old in 1989 and has scored more than 13,000 one-day international runs and 38 centuries, both records.
He also jointly holds the record for most Test centuries (34) with compatriot Sunil Gavaskar and is one of only five batsmen to score more than 10,000 Test runs.
His feats have taken a heavy toll on his body, however, and he has suffered hand, foot, ankle and finger injuries.
"I'm quite happy that for the first 10 years I didn't miss a single game because of injuries," he said. "That, I feel, is a positive thing to have happened to me.
"Sometimes things can be very unfortunate. Not because of your fitness, but due to some freakish reasons and you just get injured."
TEAM MENTOR
Tendulkar, a former captain of India who has been asked by coach Greg Chappell to be the team's mentor, said he relished helping other players.
"I don't change my approach, whether someone is 15 years junior to me or five or 10 years," he said. "The basic idea is to share one's experiences and thoughts, and I have always done that.
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Tendulkar's comeback has inspired India, who ended a poor run of one-day form by notching four victories in a row to clinch the seven-match series against Sri Lanka.
He attributed the turnaround to a positive approach by the players.
"It's a wheel, once you push it, it rolls on its own and gathers momentum, which was what was missing, he said, adding that Chappell's presence was making a difference.
"He is among the top players to have played this game. Obviously his thinking is different, it has influenced the way the team approaches the game.
"It is not only about technique, not only about practical things, but the theories, which, sitting back in the room you can visualise so many things and start thinking differently."
Tendulkar hopes the team can maintain the momentum until the 2007 World Cup, but said it would be one step at a time for himself.
"I think it is important to focus more on the near future. It's like a camera lens. The moment you start focusing on things which are far off, you lose focus of things close to you."
India have a busy season ahead. They play five home one-dayers against South Africa later this month before Sri Lanka return to play three Tests. They tour Pakistan in January and host England in March-April.
